Build a sustainable future: Briefing note

Key messages March 2018

This note highlights data linked to the key issues that should possibly be considered when building a sustainable future for the borough of Calderdale.

- **Flooding** The floods of December 2015 affected around 2,135 homes and 1,108 businesses and had a devastating impact on the Calderdale community. A number of substations, schools, roads and bridges were also damaged, particularly Elland Bridge. Unlike previous significant flood events that affected mainly the upper Calder valley, communities further down the valley including Sowerby Bridge, Elland and Brighouse experienced a greater degree of flooding. Many of the figures related to the event can be found on the infographics on Calderdale Data Works flood data.

  Following the devastating floods, the Environment Agency (EA) was tasked by the Secretary of State to put together a detailed catchment plan to manage and reduce the risk of flooding in Calderdale over the next 25 years. The plan, called the Calderdale flood action plan, contains the actions that communities and partners feel are essential to help Calderdale recover from the floods, improve resilience and reduce the risk of flooding. Consultation and revision of the plan will continue on a quarterly basis.

  Significant work has been undertaken since the floods with £56 million being spent on flood recovery and defence, including infrastructure repairs, home and business grants, and flood risk reduction schemes. There have been 33 major flood recovery projects and thousands of smaller jobs carried out by the Council, including repairing bridges, landslip sites and road surfacing. Projects have been completed at 200 locations by 1,500 volunteers across a variety of community groups. Two major flood exercises co-ordinated by Calderdale Council have been undertaken involving sounding of flood sirens and testing the Council's emergency communication systems.

  Further resilience work includes completing construction at Park Road, Elland, delivery of a major flood alleviation scheme at Mytholmroyd and further work on the outline business case for the Hebden Bridge flood alleviation scheme.

  More details can be found using the links in the Appendix at Flooding.

- **Air quality** Monitoring air pollution in Calderdale is an ongoing process. In 2014, 4.4% of all adult mortality was estimated to be due to long term exposure to harmful particulate matter (PM) air pollution. In 2015, this reduced to 3.7% (Public Health Outcomes Framework 2015), and is lower than the Yorkshire and Humber average of 4.3%, see table 1 and figure 1 in the Appendix.

  The level of CO2 per head of population in Calderdale has a reducing trend – 4.8% in 2015, compared to a mean of 5.1% for Yorkshire and the Humber. This figure is based on estimates within the scope of influence of Local Authorities. Further details can be found in the ‘Subset dataset’ in 2005 to 2015 UK local and regional CO2 emissions – data tables.

  The pollutant of most concern in Calderdale is nitrogen dioxide, mainly associated with road traffic. Levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are monitored at 7 Air Quality Management Areas.

  More information can be found using the links in the Appendix at Air Quality.

- **Transport and connectivity** Calderdale is being transformed as part of Calderdale’s Next Chapter. The aspiration is to grow the economy, reduce inequality and build a sustainable future. Through over £150 million in investment, we are working to improve transport, public spaces and business premises, which build on our heritage, our fine architecture, our vibrant business sector and our strong communities. Some of the major projects that will transform Calderdale include:

- the opening of a railway station in Elland, including a bus-rail interchange, and significant road, cycle and pedestrian links to the station;

- building a new Halifax train station to form a new Gateway to the town and to the wider district with better connectivity between modes and across the town of Halifax;

- investment in Halifax town centre, delivering major public realm improvements to promote pedestrian and cycle access.

All of these major investments are enabled by improved access to Calderdale through work on:

- the A629 Halifax to Huddersfield corridor;
- the A58 from Halifax to Rishworth, including Sowerby Bridge; and
- the A646 from Halifax to Todmorden.

This work is unlocking development potential in both Calderdale and Kirklees and will result in congestion relief, reduced journey times for general traffic, improved pedestrian / cycle accessibility and a reduction in end-to-end journey times for buses. Funding for this major investment comes from the West Yorkshire Plus Transport Fund as part of Leeds City Region's Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Growth Deal – a £1 billion package of Government funding to drive growth and job creation across the Leeds City Region.

The aspiration for Calderdale’s Next Chapter supports the Transport Strategy and the Cycling Strategy, which recognise that the way we travel is changing and seek to enable growth by improving transport links. The vision for cycling is to make Calderdale a nationally recognised centre of cycling excellence where residents, visitors and tourists of all ages and abilities can safely cycle. This will be achieved through projects such as the CityConnect Canal Towpath, which will deliver a continuous high quality cycling and disabled accessible valley floor route from Hebden to Brighouse.

More transport related data, including road maintenance, can be found in the Appendix at Transport and Connectivity.

- **Housing – Existing housing stock and new dwellings** There are approximately 94,400 residential dwellings in Calderdale: 64,100 owner occupier, 16,000 private rented and 14,300 social housing. There are 1,713 homes which have been empty for longer than 6 months. 16,000 privately owned properties (74% owner occupied / 26% private rented) feature a category one hazard. It would cost an estimated £45.5 million to mitigate these hazards.

  At present around 400 new homes are completed annually, which is not sufficient to meet our projected needs. The emerging Calderdale Local Plan will identify a requirement for 840 dwellings to be built annually over the next 15 years. To achieve this, the Plan will identify a supply of viable, deliverable and sustainable sites. In order to minimise the impact on the Green Belt the Council is seeking to maximise densities in sustainable locations around town centres and close to public transport facilities.

  To achieve the priorities and ambitions for new, existing and empty properties in the Borough, the Council will:

  - **contribute to improving the energy efficiency of existing homes:** this is being supported through the Affordable Warmth programme;
  - **support the sustainability of existing and new communities:** the Council is working with partners such as Housing Associations and Community Land Trust to deliver new affordable homes and through the Calderdale Together Housing Investment Partnership will deliver new homes as part of regeneration activities at Beech Hill and North Halifax;
  - **work closely with partners to address the needs of specific groups from young people to older people:** an example of this is joining up initiatives with health and social care to deliver specially designed schemes such as the new dementia focussed extra care scheme at Bramston Street, Rastrick.

  Further details can be found in the Appendix at Housing - Existing stock and new dwellings

- **Housing - Homelessness** The true number of people in Calderdale who are homeless is not known. Many are sofa surfing amongst friends and relatives and do not approach the Council for help directly, therefore are not included in the figures below.

  In 2016/17, there were 107 homelessness presentations, of which 49 households were accepted as statutory homelessness. There were also 912 homeless preventions. The latest rough sleeper count shows there were 6 rough sleepers in Calderdale on the night of the count, the same as in 2016. For more detail see Rough sleeping in England 2017. Information and advice on the help that is available can be found at Rough sleepers and beggars.

Several of the charities in Calderdale are aware of more people who are homeless, including those who do not contact the Council. Homelessness is one of three priority local needs highlighted in the Vital signs research carried out by the Community Foundation for Calderdale, see Vital signs.

The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 will come into force in April 2018. It places duties on local authorities to intervene at earlier stages to prevent the homelessness of all families and single people, regardless of priority need, who are eligible for assistance and threatened with homelessness. Working with households earlier should enable more homelessness prevention, removing the expense of finding and moving to a new home.

The Council will work with customers to agree a Housing Plan of tasks that they (with assistance from support workers if necessary) and the Council will each undertake. This Plan will be regularly reviewed and updated. The Council will work with partners such as benefits, the Department for Work and Pensions, social care, health, probation, housing and other support agencies to resolve issues as soon as they arise, which can only benefit everyone’s wellbeing.

The Calderdale homelessness strategy 2015-2020 provides more information and the Calderdale Joint strategic needs assessment (JSNA) includes a chapter on Homelessness, which focuses on the wellbeing of homeless people.

- **Natural environment - Green spaces** It is widely recognised that access to green spaces can significantly improve people’s health and wellbeing. Benefits include increased physical activity and reduction in stress and depression, see the JSNA chapter Health benefits of access to natural environments.

Calderdale has a range of green spaces, including Council run parks, nature reserves, public paths, bridleways, and open spaces that are available to all. To achieve the vision of Calderdale being the most active borough in the North by 2021, Calderdale Council are trying to encourage people to make more use of the parks, open spaces and countryside and to become more active and healthy whilst doing so.

Calderdale residents were surveyed to gain an understanding of how many people are making use of open spaces. Survey results showed a 79.5% usage in March 2017 and 82.5% in September 2017. The most recent survey showed that the areas most visited were open countryside, followed closely by Shibden Park. Other areas visited frequently were Ogden Water, Hardcastle Craggs, Manor Heath, Saville Park and Hollingworth Lake. A variety of reasons were given for the visits including walking, running, cycling, family activities, visiting an attraction, volunteering and peace and quiet. Survey responses indicated the benefits derived from these visits included exercise, fresh air, peace and health with 98% of respondents stating they would recommend the open spaces to friends and family.

Volunteers are vitally important to the Countryside and Woodlands team, working in all weathers to help maintain Local Nature Reserves and the Public Rights of Way network. Volunteers run the shop at Ogden Water whilst acting as a contact point for visitors to the site. In addition volunteers assist with events and school visits on a regular basis.

A programme of community days encourages members of the public to help maintain sites such as Nutclough, Beechwood Park and Cunlery Wood. Staff from organisations such as Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Sun Alliance give their time to enhance the quality of places like Ogden Water.

Between 1 April 2017 and 28 February 2018, volunteers carrying out practical tasks alone donated 6,000 hours of time helping to repair, enhance and maintain the beautiful countryside in Calderdale. The total amount of time donated to the Countryside and Woodlands team over a 12 month period is getting on for 10,000 hours.

More information on Calderdale’s parks and green spaces can be found at Calderdale website: Parks and open spaces.

**Further information**

A selection of metrics relating to building a sustainable future is included in this report. Datasets that underpin these metrics can be found on Calderdale Data Works open data website.

Performance and Business Intelligence Team Calderdale Council 23 March 2018 performance.businessintelligence@calderdale.gov.uk Appendix

Flooding

£56 million spent on flood recovery and defence. £46 million allocated for flood resilience schemes. £1 million funding secured to improve road drainage.

More information on how flooding affects Calderdale can be found at:

- **JSNA**: chapter on flooding Calderdale JSNA: Flooding

- **Calderdale Data Works**: includes infographic 'Boxing Day floods – 2 years on', and the location of flood sirens in Calderdale Calderdale Data Works: flood data Calderdale Data Works: flood siren locations

- **Calderdale website – Flooding**: advice for residents, local flood risk management strategy, Calderdale flood recovery and resilience programme and the Calderdale flood action plan. Calderdale Council: Flooding

- **Gov.uk**: service to find which flood zone a location is in Gov.uk: flood map for planning

### Air Quality

#### Air Pollution

3.7% of adult mortality is estimated to be due to air pollution in Calderdale, less than the regional average of 4.3%.

| Authority | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | |----------------------------|------|------|------| | North East Lincolnshire | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.7 | | North Lincolnshire | 5.6 | 5.7 | 4.8 | | Kingston upon Hull | 5.7 | 5.7 | 4.8 | | East Riding of Yorkshire | 5.2 | 5.2 | 4.8 | | Selby | 5.7 | 5.6 | 4.6 | | Scarborough | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.6 | | Doncaster | 5.7 | 5.5 | 4.5 | | Rotherham | 5.6 | 5.3 | 4.4 | | Leeds | 5.0 | 4.9 | 4.3 | | Wakefield | 6.0 | 5.2 | 4.2 | | Bradford | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.2 | | Sheffield | 5.0 | 4.9 | 4.1 | | Ryedale | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.0 | | Barnsley | 5.6 | 5.2 | 4.0 | | York | 4.6 | 4.6 | 3.9 | | Kirklees | 4.8 | 4.6 | 3.9 | | Hambleton | 4.3 | 4.4 | 3.9 | | Harrogate | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.7 | | Calderdale | 4.5 | 4.4 | 3.7 | | Richmondshire | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.3 | | Craven | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.1 | | Yorkshire and Humber | 5.1 | 4.9 | 4.3 | | England | 5.3 | 5.1 | 4.7 | Figure 1: Fraction of mortality attributable to particulate air pollution (PM2.5)

Data source: Public health outcomes framework, Fraction of mortality attributable to particulate air pollution, https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/public-health-outcomes-framework/data#page/0/gid/1000043/pat/6/par/E12000003/ati/101/are/E08000033, accessed 16 February 2018

Other datasets:

- Calderdale website – Air quality: air quality management areas, reports and the West Yorkshire low emissions strategy Calderdale Council: Air quality

- Calderdale Data Works: Infographic on plans to reduce CO2 pollution in Calderdale Targets to cut CO2 pollution

- JSNA: Chapter on air quality and air pollution. Air quality and air pollution

- Environment Agency: Interactive map of the data collected by the Environment agency on air pollution Environment Agency: map of air pollution locations Transport and Connectivity

Table 2: Percentage of principal and non-principal roads where maintenance should be considered from 2014/15 to 2016/17 for West Yorkshire authorities

| West Yorkshire authority | Principal (M-roads and A-roads) | Non-principal (B-roads and C-roads) | |--------------------------|---------------------------------|-------------------------------------| | | 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 | 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 | | Wakefield | 2% 2% 2% | 4% 2% 3% | | Bradford | 2% 3% 3% | 3% 4% 5% | | Leeds | 3% 3% 3% | 4% 3% 3% | | Calderdale | 5% 4% 4% | 8% 7% 7% | | Kirklees | 5% 5% 4% | 9% 8% 6% | | Yorkshire and Humber Mean| 3% 3% 3% | 7% 6% 6% |

Data sources:

- Local Government (LG) Inform, Principal roads (A and M roads) - [http://lginform.local.gov.uk/reports/lgastandard?mod-metric=39&mod-period=5&mod-area=E08000033&mod-group=AllLaInRegion_YorkshireAndHumberside&modify-report=Apply](http://lginform.local.gov.uk/reports/lgastandard?mod-metric=39&mod-period=5&mod-area=E08000033&mod-group=AllLaInRegion_YorkshireAndHumberside&modify-report=Apply), accessed 16 February 2018
- Non principal roads (B and C roads) - [http://lginform.local.gov.uk/reports/lgastandard?mod-metric=40&mod-period=5&mod-area=E08000033&mod-group=AllLaInRegion_YorkshireAndHumberside&modify-report=Apply](http://lginform.local.gov.uk/reports/lgastandard?mod-metric=40&mod-period=5&mod-area=E08000033&mod-group=AllLaInRegion_YorkshireAndHumberside&modify-report=Apply), accessed 16 February 2018

Other datasets:

- **LG Inform**: the mileage of roads maintained [LG Inform: mileage of roads maintained](http://lginform.local.gov.uk/reports/lgastandard?mod-metric=39&mod-period=5&mod-area=E08000033&mod-group=AllLaInRegion_YorkshireAndHumberside&modify-report=Apply)
- **Calderdale website**: Transport improvements and initiatives; roadworks and reporting road defects, drainage problems [Transport improvements and initiatives](http://lginform.local.gov.uk/reports/lgastandard?mod-metric=40&mod-period=5&mod-area=E08000033&mod-group=AllLaInRegion_YorkshireAndHumberside&modify-report=Apply)
- **JSNA**: chapter on Safer active travel [Calderdale JSNA: Safer active transport](http://lginform.local.gov.uk/reports/lgastandard?mod-metric=39&mod-period=5&mod-area=E08000033&mod-group=AllLaInRegion_YorkshireAndHumberside&modify-report=Apply)
- **Public Health England**: road related indicators, including accidents, fatalities, walking and cycling [Public Health profiles: road-related indicators](http://lginform.local.gov.uk/reports/lgastandard?mod-metric=40&mod-period=5&mod-area=E08000033&mod-group=AllLaInRegion_YorkshireAndHumberside&modify-report=Apply) Housing – Existing stock and new dwellings

Table 3: Net additional dwellings for Calderdale

| Year | New build | Net conversions | Net Change of use | Demolitions | Net Additions (Minus Demolitions) | Affordable Homes | |--------|-----------|-----------------|-------------------|-------------|-----------------------------------|------------------| | 2012-13| 406 | 25 | 69 | 5 | 495 | 195 | | 2013-14| 283 | 21 | 57 | 34 | 327 | 126 | | 2014-15| 406 | 39 | 126 | 7 | 564 | 53 | | 2015-16| 243 | 18 | 72 | 4 | 329 | 13 | | 2016-17| 260 | 18 | 105 | 7 | 376 | 64 |

Data sources:

- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Table 123: housing supply: net additional dwellings, component flows of, by local authority district, England 2012-13 to 2016-17, [https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-net-supply-of-housing](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-net-supply-of-housing), accessed 16 February 2018
- Affordable homes figures provided by Housing and Green Economy service.

Table 4: Net additional dwellings (2012 to 2017) as a proportion of West Yorkshire population

| Authority | Population | Net dwellings | Proportion of population | |-----------|------------|---------------|--------------------------| | Wakefield | 331,379 | 6,351 | 1.92% | | Leeds | 751,500 | 12,680 | 1.69% | | Kirklees | 431,020 | 4,580 | 1.06% | | Bradford | 528,200 | 5,555 | 1.05% | | Calderdale| 205,300 | 2,068 | 1.01% | | Total | 2,247,399 | 31,234 | |

Data source: Figures provided by Housing and Green Economy service.

More information on the plans to create affordable homes is available in this press release from Calderdale Council and Together Housing on new affordable homes: [New affordable homes](#)